Drivers of toxic diesels must pay to enter cities

Britain has failed to draw up plans to ensure that it meets EU limits on air pollution, which causes more than 40,000 premature deaths a yearNick Ansell/Press Association

Drivers of diesel cars face charges to enter city centres across the country after the High Court ruled that the government was failing to tackle air pollution.

Britain has failed to draw up plans to ensure that it meets EU limits on air pollution, which causes more than 40,000 premature deaths a year in the country, a judge found. He concluded that ministers had knowingly based their air-quality plan on forecasts that were too optimistic.

The cabinet had been warned that diesel cars emitted at least four times as much nitrogen dioxide — a toxic gas largely produced by diesel engines — on the road as in official laboratory tests. Ministers still approved a plan exempting diesel cars, which were responsible for up to 40 per cent…

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